On Thursday, 22 November 2018, we met at the Thermana Lasko Congress Center at the 3rd meeting of the ABS Network project, entitled "Networking for Raising Innovation".
Representatives of more than 50 different companies met at the 3rd business meeting, which included a round table with representatives of Talum d.d., Technical University of Graz and Tiko Pro d.o.o. they discussed the importance of cooperation between business and research institutions. The round table was followed by moderated networking, a presentation of an example of good practice from Polycom, and a lecture and workshop on the topic about grants for research and innovation projects.
The main topic of this meeting was the link between industry and research institutions in order to achieve the highest possible level of innovation - especially in terms of realizing the requirements of industry 4.0 and pursuing the objectives of the announced industry 5.0.
The morning part of the event was primarily aimed at the round table where project partners’ representatives of the s of the ABS Network project, Helmut Schober dipl. Ing. architect, project assistant at Technical University of Graz, mag. Vlasta Stojak, Assistant Director of Human Resources, Talum d.d. and Mateja Kramberger, certified ECQA project manager, Tiko Pro d.o.o., spoke about the key elements of successful networking between business and research institutions.
At the round table Helmut Schober said, "The scientific research and business world must connect, complement and benefit from each other. Innovative, entrepreneurial thinking must also include the research contribution of universities. Collaboration, however, opens the door to the manufacturing environment of the company, where it has a connection with reality. "
It was followed by a short organized networking, which prepared the participants for the second part of the event – a real case from the practice: the company Polycom. Our guest, dr. Simon Oman, Head of Informatics at Polycom, talked about a robotized and digitized factory and the challenges that the industry predicted for the industry 5.0.
In the afternoon, we concluded with the topic of grants - the latter can be very welcome in promoting the development and research activities. Current calls for proposals at national and EU level were presented by Tjaša Milošič Kovačič, co-owner and director of Tiko Pro doo. She provided information on the announced funding opportunities for 2019 and rounded up her lecture with tips on how to prepare a high quality project proposal.
The conclusion of the meeting was in the spirit of active cooperation between participants, through a practical workshop led by Mateja Kramberger. They generated innovative ideas and prepared joint project concepts, potentially suitable for applying for funding.
The ABS Network project, funded under the VA Interreg Slovenia-Austria program, started last year and will last 26 months. Two more events will be organized within the project - the 4th meeting, which will be held in the beginning of 2019 in the Austrian the city of Graz and the Final Conference, which will be held next spring in Slovenia.